The recent letter that was penned and signed by Kgotla Autlwetse, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, came as a relief to Kgosi Sediegeng Kgamane who is a close cousin to former president Ian Khama. Before this letter was written and published in the media, Kgamane was actually walking a very tight rope between government and Gammangwato royalty.
The Gammangwato tribal authority whom I regard as the regent of the chieftaincy has for a long time been living between a rock and a hard place. At least for now the man is free from the coersion of the one he is supposed to be standing in his stead, Ian Khama.
Khama has made it public that he is the one ordering Sediegeng around. At least now the orders from across the border will cease. Knowing Khama, the orders will not cease to flow from him, but they will now become absolutely ineffective.
It is true that Kgamane is holding fort for Khama, but the latter does not want to come anywhere near the seat of power in Serowe because he will then be subjected to the Bogosi Act. This is the very legal instrument used to save Kgamane from the harassment by Khama.
Sediegeng is a man who loves peace and has always wanted to stay away from controversy as far as he could. Some have viewed him as a timid character, but he has been a stabilising force in the trouble prone tribe of Gammangwato. Serowe particularly is a Gammangwato hotspot for trouble. Something that Robert Molefhabangwe refers to as; “mekubukubu ya Gammangwato.”
In fact Sediegeng Kgamane is the man who can bring propitiation upon the diminishing Ngwato chieftaincy. Kgamane was the younger brother of Khama. The names are just the same and it is just that the Khama family chose to stick to the old Setswana orthography which was far influenced by Sotho teachers who were brought into Bechuanaland. In particular, Simeon Seisa who was Khama III’s secretary and interpreter must have preferred to keep it this way as a Mosotho man.
Upon arrival in the new Ngwato capital of Phalatswe in 1886, rivalry developed between Khama and Kgamane. The feud went so bad that Kgamane ultimately crossed the border to seek for military assistance from President “Oom” Paul Kruger of the Transvaal Republic. Kruger was so will to intervene militarily and that culminated later in what was known as the Grobler expedition into Khama’s country.
Grobler’s brug (bridge) which is the Martin’s Drift border crossing in Botswana was the point of entry for the Transvaal commando incursion into Khama’s country. This is the history of the conflict between the two men’s ancestors.
Clearly Kgamane has chosen a path of peace and he is now cooperating with the government as according to Bogosi Act. But I see the old wounds opening up soon as Kgamane refuses to take orders from Khama. But Khama needs to be reminded that the orders are illegal.
Already, there are those calling for Kgamane’s return to Shoshong, his original home village and also former Ngwato capital until 1886. Clearly there are deep reasons why the Kgamane family did not journey on with the Khamas from Shoshong. Those reasons are likely to play themselves out in this new twist of events.
The fact that Kgamane and other chiefs were absent from the latest meetings has become an insult for Khama. The fact that Kgamane is no longer taking instructions from him is certainly going to rattle the nest.
But Khama remains almost powerless in this regard. He has no power to remove Sediegeng from the position he is holding and cannot appoint anyone in his stead. This is the prerogative of the minister of Local Government.
This is only going to add to Khama’s frustrations because he has never been powerless in his whole lifetime. He determined the formation of Botswana Defence Force, and as commander, he was so powerful that President Masire was literally living under his shadow. This is a man who even influenced the appointment of magistrates while he remained as commander.
They say what goes around comes around. Bogosi Act was the creation of Seretse Khama with a sole intention of watering down this traditional institution. This was deliberate and he prepared his royal family to assume power with the republic. It is not by chance that Ian became the fourth president of Botswana and second commander of BDF. Everything came from Seretse’s blueprint as prepared by Ruth Khama.
Further to this, Ian Khama used the Bogosi Act to put Kgosi Kgafela of Bakgatla under control. The Act is a control tool. It is the same tool that is now being used to put the Serowe situation under control.
Even if Khama could come back from his self-imposed exile to assume leadership of the tribe, he would find himself relegated below some people that he calls “subjects” and that would frustrate him even further.
All things being equal, when Khama chooses to become chief, he would report to the District Commissioner. Whenever he would require leave, it would be signed by the DC or even someone junior in that office.
Regarding leave, the man would certainly exhaust his leave days as he would be off most of the days attending several events that he attends annually. Makgadikgadi Epic being one of them and the attendance of the international wildlife events, there would never be enough leave days to afford him to do these things.
Khama has six homes that he frequently has to visit and he usually spends a few days there. There is Mosu, State House IV in Gaborone, Khama Island in Shakawe, Ruretse, Chadibe/Sefhare and Serowe. All of these locations bear so much significance in the man’s life.
For the above reasons, Khama would perpetually be an absent chief. It is high time the Kgamane family assumes the Ngwato throne because none of the Khamas is anywhere near being ready for this demanding job.
